Story of a Bad Mage
by WS.Blue
Summary: Evangeline's new life as a vampire in the 14th century, and how she became the bitter immortal as she was.
1. The Chapel

Lying on the stone tiles of the abandoned forest chapel, under the fallen roof and the exposed sky, Evangeline A.K. McDowell waited for the sun to rise from the East, to grant her the cleansing flame she very much deserved. She needed not turn to see the bloody remains of her father to be reminded what she did to him and the others, her memories remained clear in her mind, vividly replaying themselves before her eyes.

Despite what she did, even when bundled with wounds from both swords and claws, the master of the McDowell castle escorted his daughter to safety, away from the fanatics who wanted her dead. They caught up to the pair nevertheless, the elder McDowell fought bravely, though he managed to slay them all, his wounds were grave. In his last moment, her father only wished to embrace Evangeline once more, however, frightened and unnerved, she was afraid of granting his last wish, fearing of what she would do to him. Even so, he soon passed on in a better world now with a serene smile still spotted on his blood-smudged lips, leaving the young girl alone once more in this rundown chapel, a chapel forgotten in this abandoned village.

Evangeline smiled to no one but herself, accepting her fate as the first glint of the morning dawn shined through the opened doors kissing gently on the girl's cold bare feet. She suspected as much that it would be painful, and resorted to tying a rope she found around her waist to the pillar under the collapsed roof, providing a clear view to the sun a monster the world created. But all preparation and determination were useless in the face of death, even the slightest beam of light sent instantaneous pain through her body, sending her blood boiling and lungs smoking with steam inside. She let out an animalistic howl and threw her hands up to shade the eyes from the blinding lights, but even with her eyes closed, she felt like her own eyes were melting in the heat. In no time her vision blurred then dimmed, and in the last moment of her life, she thought of saying a prayer, or even asking for forgiveness, but what God would forgive her? What God allowed this to happen in the first place? Overwhelmed by the burning pain, Evangeline passed out, believing that she would be going to hell.

Awakened by howls from the wolves to their moon, Evangeline pried her dried up eyelids open, and stared at the same moon the wolves were howling at. The chapel that once sheltered her was gone, burnt down by the fire raised from the heat of her burning. Though charred and burnt, and still feeling nothing but the hot coal in her throat, she was still alive. Even death had forsaken her.


	2. The Dream

Still sore and sunburnt, every action she took ached badly, but Evangeline still hurried on to finish the graves she dug out with her own claws for her father and his murderers. She found the tasks of dragging the bodies over to the pit easier than she imagined, at each grave, she placed a stone and some fruits she found, and said a little prayer, though she now doubted that her God existed at all.

She could hear and sense the wolves around the chapel but they made no advances, and jested at the thought that even the beasts were afraid of her now. If the wolves were not planning to eat her, Evangeline thought that she might as well make herself comfortable for the passing day. Finding what she judged to be the darkest corner of the fallen rumbles from the burnt down chapel, she cradled herself to sleep. Her last thought before dozing off from exhaustion was how ironic that a vampire would end up seeking refuge in a holy place.

Evangeline drifted off to her dream, there was nothing to be found, but regardless welcomed the silent and the absence of scent of blood that filled her every scenes ever since that moment she was awaken as a monster. The peace did not last long as the haunting light returned and flooded her vision, with music and laughter accompanying it. Opening her eyes, she found herself back at the grant hall of her father's castle, and it was her birthday.

It was the night her life was turned upside down, everything was as she remembered, down to the smiles of each guests, and the smell of the roasted meat on the pit, but given the second chance, she now recognised the lies on their lips, and the rawness of the meat, the smell of blood from the meal to their pulsing necks. Even though it was tempting to pretend this could be a second chance given by God for her to redeem herself, each moment passed convinced her otherwise. Like a spectator watching a play, she could not help noticing that their gazes showing no life, and their laughter was carrying no sound, behaving more like the hollowed husks of their formal selves, like actors playing out according to the script. Then, a man whom she did not remember seeing before entered the room, breaking the account of what she remembered from that night. This new player of the scene dressed like a noble, coming to stand in the middle of the room among the crowd, he blocked everyone's paths, but no one noticed his presence, and they even walked around him without a second thought. She could not catch his looks, as if standing under a shade, his features were obscure by an unexplainable darkness, but what was clear was his beaming smile which remained conspicuous. He knew she saw him, and smiled back in return.

Panic seized Evangeline, and she turned to run, but her mother who was there beside her all along caught her pulled her closer. The fingers of the mother dug deep into Evangeline's fresh, clutching harder than she normally would, as if otherwise all would be lost. Looking up, Evangeline saw a dreadful face with all colours drained with fear, her mother was the only one in the room who appeared whole and real, and she could see the man that everyone could not. Looking back at the stranger, she realised that he was smiling at her mother, not at herself.

"No!" the lady of the castle screamed as if she knew what was going to happen, and bolted up from her seat, violently pushing the chair back to the ground. Even though knowing it would be futile to even try, she put herself between Evangeline and the man she feared. Buried in her mother's bosom, Evangeline knew her mother would protect her, she knew she would be safe here, where it was warm. Then, her virgin fangs tasted their first blood.

"Vampire!" the stranger proclaimed with a laugh and a raised bony finger.

The woman that gave her life fell to the floor with a loud thud, breaking the spell in the room. Everyone instantly came to life, complexion returned to the guests, servants and soldiers, they now noticed the presence of the man who yelled, who singled out the girl who just murdered her own mother.

"Vampire!" not that it was needed, but the stranger repeated. Everyone around him would see his sincere fear about the vampire, but no one would ever notice his spreading smile that revealed his own rows and rows of fangs.

Evangeline remained where she stood, she now realised that this was her chance to know more about what happened the night she had forgotten, though she did not know the details but she knew he was somehow involved. She could not change her past, but she could watch, if there was anything else this nightmare could afford was the appearance of the stranger. A soldier threw himself at her, pushing her to the floor, but she never tore her gaze away from the man who changed her, committing every detail about him into her memory.

"Who are you?!" she commanded for an answer. The stranger turned his attention to the girl, and muttered something but it was lost in the chaos.

Shouts from the men, and screams from the women mixed in with the howls of the wolves. Somewhere among the crazed crowd was her father, fighting off one guard at a time, trying to get his daughter back. Once again lost from the minds of the frenzied people in the hall, the stranger laughed and turned to walk off, and it was then that Evangeline knew this dream was coming to an end.

Evangeline gasped, and she was no longer in her castle, but the godforsaken chapel. Though it was a mere nightmare, it offered so much more. For once, she was grateful to be alive, though God might not exist for her, she now knew that one man was real. His grin was all he allowed her to see, but it was enough for her to move on.


	3. The Ghost

Despite having little travelling experience outside her castle, Evangeline decided without hesitation that she must him, believing that the mysterious stranger to be the key to the event that ended her normal life. Even if it was not for him, Evangeline knew that it would be the matter of time before the friends of her assailants would come looking for them here. Now with a goal in mind, Evangeline prepared for her journey to find the man she coined as just the Laughing Man.

Scouting beyond the waste of the chapel that had been her home for two nights, she found more buildings, or rather what remained of a small village now overran by vegetations and wilderness. Curious to note that though the village and its chapel had been abandoned for what seemed like decades, none of the houses were locked, nor were there signs of pillages or violence. No bodies could be found anywhere, and based on the culinary left behind, it was almost like everyone and the farm creatures alike just stopped what they were doing and disappeared from this world.

Holding one end of her golden locks tightly in one hand, she swiftly severed them up with a dagger she looted from the body of one of the vampire hunters. Next would be the oversized cloak she had been wearing since her dress was burned away in the first night's fire, which she replaced with a simple commoner clothes of her size she found in a wardrobe. Looking at the room she was now in, it was obvious the clothes she stole once belonged to a girl her age. Though the room was small and simple, the bed was in good condition.

"I can stay here," she tried to convince herself, she knew that she had no intention to stay, it was not the condition of living here, nor the hunters might try to find their missing friends, just that she knew that once she saw his face, she could not rest until she had her hands around his neck, chocking him. "What have I become?" she laughed.

With all preparation done and double-checked, all that was left were food and drink, Evangeline had yet to feel the hunger despite that her last meal was two nights ago, but she was starting to feel thirsty, solemnly reminding her that she was now a blood sucking vampire. She could hear the skittering of tiny forest rodents, but found all sort of excuses not to catch and drain their blood.

Evangeline returned to the chapel where she buried her father, paying her final respect to him. Then she felt the slightest twitch, she was no longer alone, graced not by a beast but something else. Despite not showing any sign of hostility, it frightened her greatly, it was the first time she felt something so terrifying.

"Who's there? Come out now!" the girl yelped as she spun around swiftly, but finding herself only facing the night. Evangeline could have sworn that she felt someone or something watching her. Remembering that she had a dagger, she swung it in front of her as she took slow steps back.

Noting the sudden absence of its aura, she concluded that the presence had fled. And even though three-quarter of the night was already wasted making her preparations, Evangeline decided that it was time to go. The young vampire was afraid of ghosts.


	4. The Forest

Just before the night ended, Evangeline regretted leaving her safe haven so near to dawn, the sun came sooner than she expected. Fortunately for her, she found a tiny cave to share with the critters, else she would be spending another night with burns given by the punishing sun.

However this was not the case for the next few nights, unable to find safe refuge, she eventually resorted to digging a hole for herself almost every night. And every night after, she found her hair growing longer and longer, eventually realising the futility of trimming them again, she stopped, and they returned to their full length by the fifth night since leaving the village.

Despite having no source of light, she had no problem seeing in the night, nor bothered by the cold wind, she stopped considering it strange after remembering that she was a monster now. Time no longer meant anything in this dark forest, with all the tall trees covering up the night sky, Evangeline could no longer tell when the moon would retreat beyond the horizon and when the sun would be hurting her again. Time was no longer about day and night, but when she would fall flat onto the ground exhausted.

Whenever she was too tired to move on, she reminded herself of her goal, to find the Laughing Man. From what she remembered, she only knew that he was a noble of sort, with only that, she headed towards the nearest city to the west, if it meant that she had to travel all neighbouring towns and cities, she would. To most people, this would not be a sufficient motivation to traverse the forest alone for her next two weeks journey, but for the young vampire, it was her only lead.

By the sixth night, she found her shoes had almost worn off completely from the walk, discarding them, she just continued on as if nothing happened. It was also then that she realised that her progress and speed was seriously waning, with the minuscule blood from the creatures she caught, the nutrient she obtained was not enough to sustain her. She soon turned to fruits, then meats. Gobbling down anything she could find, she cried both for her pitiful state, and for the fact that they could not drench her thirst. However, she continued to consume any meat after it had been drained of blood, merely hoping that her stomach would eventually adapt to it.

It was useless, it was not enough. If nothing was to be done, Evangeline would die from starvation. As if knowing that she was at her weakest, the ghost from the chapel returned to her side on the seventh night, she still could not see it, but its presence and aura were unmistakable. With all tears dried and all strength worn, she just returned an empty stare back at the Chapel Ghost. Even with fear and desperation clouding her senses, she welcomed his appearance, noting that even after being turned into a vampire, a ghost would accompany her to her last moment in life.


	5. The City

Evangeline woke up once more gasping for air, not that she needed any, the smell was unmistakable, blood. Disgusted upon realising where she was, she felt about, trying to find the tear, and climbed out from the dehydrated carcass of a bear.

Seeing that other than the blood on her, she was clean from any burn, she guessed that she must have spent the whole day inside that bear. Turning around, she examined the body, the last place she thought she would seek shelter in. The bear was huge, with a gapping wound clearly visible at the belly where she emerged from.

Dumbfound by the sight, overwhelmed by the smell, Evangeline dropped to her knees and bowed over. Throwing out every solid substance she consumed during the last few nights, undigested. It was too much for her, scrambling away from the carcass, she collapsed against a tree.

Taking a moment to absorb everything that happened to her, she took a deep breath, and tried to calmly rationalise her current situation. Nothing came back to her, she could not remember anything that happened between the last visit from the Chapel Ghost to the moment she crawled out from the bear. Just when she thought that she figured out everything she needed to know about living as a vampire, nothing made sense anymore. She knew that bears don't hunt during the night, do they? Even a pack of wolves avoided her, did the bear confronted her, or was it the other way round?

Worse still, her only costume was efficiently dyed in blood, already troubled enough by the current situation, something else caught her attention. Though far, her keen ears caught the galloping of horses. Slumped down against a tree, Evangeline gave up to her fate, the vampire hunters were back for her, she believed.

The sound faded away in another direction, Evangeline mused on that fact how scared she was, and after buckling up her courage, she followed after. The voices of the woods grew fainter the more she travelled, replaced by the voices of men.

_"Cities don't build themselves overnight."_

However, it almost felt like the city before her indeed did, Evangeline had previously calculated that a week more worth of travel would be needed before reaching her destination. Either someone moved to the city to her, or someone moved her to the proximity of the city, the same someone who dropped a bear on top of her, or maybe the other way round.

Even if the night was dark, she still reeked of blood, her presence would no doubt be obvious, however to her surprise, no one even took a glance in her direction. What was even more worrying was how much alive the night was, as if the city never sleeps. Armed men and beggars were walking the street alike as if the sun was high, with women whoring themselves, while kids competing against rats for food. A city of the night, even for mortal men, it would be safer to sleep in the day than to bare their backs to the lurking shadows.

Half a night already wasted crying over spilt milk, Evangeline had to constantly remind herself that the deed with the bear was done and over, and now she was left with a few measly hours to find a shelter. What was she doing in the city? She lamented that it was a mistake to venture out towards the humans without waiting for a fresh night, and now it was too late to retreat back to the forest. Why was she so eagerly head out into the city? She longed for human company, she realised, even if the same human company would equally eager to drive a stake through her heart.

The sun would soon rise once more, revealing her blood-soaked attire, and perhaps her roasted flesh to anyone who would find her unconscious on the street. Her only option were the dark alleys, even so, they would not be able to provide her a full protection she needed. Sadly, even the territorial beggars denied her request to rest with them, forcing her to find other means to survive.

Feeling the fatigue coming upon her, she knew that the sun was nearing, her hurried steps to nowhere ended when she collapsed into a pair of strong comforting arms.


	6. The Room

When Evangeline came to, she found herself on an unfamiliar bed, though it was nothing compared with her own bed back home, she had possibly the best sleep in years. It was night again, she could sense it, and it took her a while to realise the presence of another beside her. Sitting up, Evangeline observed the female human, she looked to be in her mid-thirties, but might be older, and of common blood, warm. She soon found herself focusing on the female's breathing and the beating of her heart. It was alluring, it was the first time she was so close to a living human without them running or screaming. Drawn to the pulsing vein, she subconsciously arched her head over, parting her lips.

"Glad to see that you are alive," the human said all so sudden, more frightened than surprised, Evangeline fell backwards onto the floor.

The woman was quick, and soon peeked over the edge of the bed with an amused look on her face, asking Evangeline while offering a hand, "Sorry to have startled you, are you all right?"

The young vampire remained on the cold floor for a while before taking the helping hand. Once up, the woman left the room (barely clothed no less) without saying another word, leaving the young vampire to draw her own speculation as to how she ended up in this room. She noticed that she was no longer in her rugs, but in some clean and simple attire for a boy of her size. The woman returned promptly with unheard footsteps, carrying with her a tray with bowls and breads on plates.

"Breakfast," she explained. "Or you can say dinner, I work nightshift as you can probably guess by now." That was not true however, Evangeline was too confused and occupied to bother about others' lifestyle, though that would explain why she was clear awake when the night was just starting.

"Come, I am sure you are hungry, you were so thin and cold that I suspected that you were dead to begin with."

Evangeline was neither cold nor hungry, and she did not like her tone of speech, nevertheless, Evangeline approached her saviour.

"My name is Joanne, how may I address you, princess?"

Evangeline halted in her steps, and Joanne could see both fear and caution in the young girl's trembling feet and crunching fists.

"You may be clothed in filth but your fair skin can't lie. What is a young rich girl doing dressed in rags? I saw your silk undergarments, your disguise would have only work during a dark night like when I found you. Have you realised how ridiculous you look? In fact, I think it was inviting more curious eyes than hiding your identity. Don't worry, I will not know tell others of your whereabouts, I can hide you as long as you wish. I don't wish to intrude into your affairs, but at least give me a name which I may call you."

"Eva." For a split second, she thought of giving a false name, however, that came out rather too easily.

Nothing more came from Joanne, except for an invitation to sit next to her, which Evangeline did. Nibbling on the bread and sipping on the warm soup were all she could do at the moment, though used to having her meal in silence while dinning with her parents, the silence between her and the stranger was awkward and frightening. She felt as if she was already in another's control, and any wrong move on her part would cause the woman to call for guards.

"These clothes," Evangeline found herself initialising on a topic.

"Oh, you want that rag back? I'm terribly sorry, I have already burned it," Joanne said without even looking up.

Again, silence, Evangeline was expecting an explanation to her new attire, but she supposed that would do, she did not feel like chasing after its origin, she just found it puzzling, that's all.

"Do you know where you are?"

Evangeline yelped in surprise, seriously, she better start getting use to Joanne, sooner or later she would be getting a heart attack if this continued on like this.

After composing herself. "The city?" was her reply.

"Right… what I'm trying to say is that at where I found you last night? You are in the sleaziest part of the city. More specifically, you're in a whorehouse now."

"Whorehouse…?"

The look on Evangeline's confused face almost sent Joanne laughing. After calming herself down, she provided an alternative name, "Brothel. Places where dirty women like me service the men."

Surprising enough, Evangeline was not bothered by what Joanne said, perhaps it was because what Joanne said did not really make much sense to her, or maybe the fact to her, nothing could be filthier than a vampire. She still did not understand what Joanne's line of work was, all she knew was that Joanne saved her from being staked.

"Thank you."


	7. The Memories

Joanne left the room after getting dressed, but not doing imposing some house rules of her own.

"Do not leave the room, do not open the windows, do not response from noises outside the door, if someone is coming in, hide under the bed, and… well, I guess that's enough for now," Eva recalled. Though dark and comfortably cold, this might as well be another prison.

The laughter and chatters from outside lured Eva into breaking Joanne's second rule, opening the windows to mere crack, she peeked at the lights and humans. For a moment, she wondered if this could be her home, a place where she could go out publicly without being hunted. Envy overcame her, being unable to go out, she hastily closed the windows, not wanting to be tempted any longer.

She sat against the wall for hours, idling, until deciding to explore the room. Dragging out a box from underneath the dresser, she identified them to be where her clothes were from. Inside held many other artefacts and clothes, for a young boy her age.

Hearing the door knob being turned, Eva quickly scrambled under the bed. A pair of legs entered and closed the door behind her, walking over to the table, she placed something on it. The legs walked over to the opened box, closed it, and shoved it back under the dresser. Fear crept up to Eva as the legs neared the bed, bowing down, one strong arm pulled her right out.

In the darkness, Evangeline could not make out the woman's features, but it was obvious to her that she was no Joanne. Panicking was all she could do before the older woman carried her to the bed.

"You're not kidnapped, are you?"

Evangeline shook her head docilely.

"She should stop picking up kids just because she lost hers. Can't believe that she just leave you alone in the room without a light, will get you a candle later, don't burn the house down, you hear me? Bought you food, will collect it later."

With just that, the woman left without further introduction, neither did she return for the tray, nor give the promised light.

Joanne returned with the coming of dawn, smiling warmly, she gently pulled the already asleep Eva from under the bed and placed her on the bed.


	8. The Monster

"Good evening, Eva," Joanne called as she combed her curves, smiling at the young vampire's reflection through the mirror. Eva knew that since she became a vampire, she would sleep early and wake late, it was likely that dusk had passed long ago, and Joanne would soon leave for work again. "Come here, sit with me, have news for you."

Complying with the woman's request, Eva walked over and was unexpectedly lifted, then placed on Joanne's laps. Switching to combing Eva's hair, Joanne started humming a tune before saying, "Tonight will be my last night here, I have earned enough to buy my freedom, do you want to come with me?"

Eva stared idly at their reflections, she knew that she could not go with her. Joanne was a human, and she was a vampire who had not drank for two nights straight; Joanne would work in the day, and Eva could only stay awake at night. Seeing the doubt in the young girl's eyes, the disappointed Joanne told her to think about it, and would like to hear her decision when she returned in the morning.

Walking over to the window, she peered once more at the life this city had. She could not find a reason how going with Joanne would benefit them both, living a fake life in a family built with lies, a monster would always be a monster.

_A monster will always be a monster._

"A monster will always be a monster…" the young vampire repeated.

_A monster will always be a monster, Evangeline McDowell._

"Who's that?!" Eva screamed, the hateful voice invaded her mind, the voice coming from nowhere but within herself. "Show yourself!" Despite the threats, the voice continued with nothing but the truths.

Her shouting summoned the people outside, footsteps stomping towards the door, but something worse came from the other direction, petrifying them all. A scream louder than her own, a scream bearing resemblance towards the woman who wanted to adopt her, a scream accompanied the aura Evangeline recognised. The Chapel Ghost she called him, he was in the same building as the young vampire, the same room as Joanne.

Bolting past the door and the frightened adults, she came to the door bound by fear. Two strong men stood before it, taking turns trying to ram the door down, soon one fell to the hex from the room, throwing out whatever he ate earlier. The lone man tried to carry his friend away, but unable to resist the madness fled first, leaving the former to suffer. Women and men took flight from the level, soon the building was left with no one but Evangeline, Joanne, the dead man by the door, and the Chapel Ghost.

The Ghost left the scene, but the horror remained, Joanne continued her scream as Evangeline pulled and pushed on the door open. Evangeline fainted before Joanne did, it would be a while before men reoccupied the building.


	9. The Eaten

No one questioned Joanne or Evangeline, no one came near them. Joanne remained in the bloodied room, with Evangeline ever by her side, the only person who ever did enter the room since was a doctor, who bandaged Joanne's face, saying that her face was as if eaten by a beast.

The blood soaked the bandages red, with no one willing to change them, Evangeline slowly and steadily unrolled them, witnessed once more the sight that caused her to faint by the door. Eye lids, lips, cheeks, skins and flesh from the face gone, leaving the eyeballs and teeth untouched. Joanne said nothing about the pain, she said nothing at all.

Evangeline slept by her side by day, tend to her by night, Joanne ate whatever she was fed, when Joanne started talking again, nothing was said about her pain, Joanne's mind was ravaged like her face, maybe worse. By the second night, the owner threw a bag of coins at them, telling them to go.

No one had visited the street for days and nights since the screams that could be heard beyond. Their departure was left blissful, uninterrupted, with Evangeline aiding the woman with one hand and carrying their luggage in the other. No one sent them off. It would be weeks before the business resumed around here, but forever more, the two rooms where Joanne was attacked and stayed would remain unoccupied.

They two found themselves occupying a rundown hut in the slum by the sewers, abandoned because the previous owner died of a disease Evangeline was not aware of. Joanne started talking again, almost to her usual self, but remained with a broken mind. Referring to the girl as her son, she revealed much about her past life, when her husband and son were alive, and had a happy family.

Because of the hut's past history and Joanne's bandages, no locals dared to approach the young Evangeline when she asked for help. The area confused her, apparently there were silent rules she never heard of that only applied to the slum, and beggars and the lames shunned her for things she did or did not do. By the end of their first night there, Evangeline was unable to find food for Joanne, and lost most of her coins to cons and pickpockets.

Evangeline woke up on the second night faint and weak, she could not recall the last time she had blood. Joanne had become a nocturnal because of her, and was tending to the girl instead. Joanne turned to her saying something, but the young vampire could not understand it, a plate was held before her, meat, blood. Evangeline could not care less as she grabbed the mess with both hands stuff them in her mouth, sucking it dry before spitting them out.

Joanne slapped her, snarling something about her manners, before pulling down her bandages to reveal the teeth and started chewing on the meat Evangeline spitted out. "Eat," she was saying. Evangeline laughed and threw herself at Joanne, embracing the older woman.

When she got off the bed, she saw for herself whose blood she drank, a dead dog. Joanne had found a dead dog and dragged it in, the trail of blood remained, along with the rats still chewing at the body. Evangeline remained where she was for a while, she did not mind tending to the woman during the night, and in return, being fed with diseased blood. She was okay with this life, Joanne was kind to her, her outcome was because of the Ghost she brought along from the village, it was her fault after all, what was there to complain about? Out of mercy or madness, Evangeline did not know, she grabbed a stone from a corner, and without realising what she doing, swung it down against Joanne's head. The skull cracked and her life expired under Evangeline's monstrous strength. Joanne died in an instance, but Evangeline continued hitting with tears continuing to stream down her cheeks.

Taking a burning log from the fireplace, she threw it at the bed which Joanne collapsed, another log at the dog, another log at the wall, her own hand was blazing, but she could not feel the pain. Standing in the middle of the burning hut, she waited for her own death. Someone came burst through the fire, snatched her and together they jumped into the sewer water. She laughed at the irony, the same man who ignored her pleas saved her from the fire.


	10. The Puppeteer

Evangeline left the slum with the fire still burning, and the men still fighting to save their hunts, her saviour disappeared as sudden as he appeared. She walked seemingly aimlessly towards the castle, not noticing the gradual change in people's attitude towards the night. Stalls and windows no longer remained opened, people were hiding from something that accompany the night. As if possessed, she continued to walk, paying no heed to the surrounding, her attention solely on the castle ahead even when the sun starting to creep up behind her.

The sudden return of the Ghost's aura drove her crazy, all she knew it was straight ahead, a man was exiting his house for work, and he reeked of the Ghost's essence. Running, leaping, Evangeline tackled the man with opened mouth filled with fangs.

Caught by surprise, the man struggled with his hands on the tiny arms of the vampire, for something so small, her strength was overwhelming his. With all his might, he threw her into his house, and as he prepare for more, he snorted at the sight of the unconscious vampire.

A tiny voice came from within the house, saying, "She stinks."

"You don't have a nose," the man said while carrying his tools back into the house, it did not look like he would get a chance to work today. But it was true, he realised, she did stink like as if she just swam in the sewers. "Get a tub, water, soap, and towel," he commanded.

Once cleaned and dried, the vampire was brought to the cellar, and tied with all the ropes the man could muster to the pillar. It was only when he was enjoying his dinner did Evangeline roused. Evangeline was gagged with the knot of a rope, she struggled with all her might, but with her adrenaline gone, she was as helpless as human child. He sighed, and swirled his body on the stool towards her, an odd idea came into mind, wondering if she want to have a share of his dinner.

"If a small one is so strong, how am I supposed take on her daddy," the stranger muttered.

For a while, Evangeline was confused, she was certain that she felt the Chapel Ghost's aura, but now it was gone, but still, Evangeline continued to violently snarled at him like a beast.

Taking care not to be bitten, he held her head and lifted her lips, stating what he observed, "Fangs retracted." Feeling the length of her leg, he continued, "Thin, undernourished?" Now looking into her eyes, "Healthy before death… Here's my analysis, kid. You're a newly converted vampire from a healthy family. Nod if I'm right."

Evangeline stopped resisting, dumbfounded by the man's studies, she hesitated at first but ended up nodding once.

Seeing that the little vampire remained calm and rational, he pulled out the knot gagging her mouth. "What is your name, I'm Hugh."

"Hugh," the room reverberated. Surprised, Evangeline jumped from where she was sitting.

Rolling his eyes, Hugh asked again, and with that, Evangeline replied with, "Eva."

"Eva," something in the room repeated.

Now the young and confused vampire was looking at the cellar from side to side, wondering if it was the way the cellar was built to produce such distinct echoes.

"Why did you attack me?"

"Forgot," Evangeline lied while still trying to find Hugh's companion. Realising something was amiss, she figured it was her turn, "What are you?! Where is your friend?!"

Seeing the girl was starting to get paranoid over the unseen, Hugh called out to them, "Chacha, stop fooling around and come out." Turning to Evangeline again, he introduced himself again, "I'm a vampire hunter, and these are my tools."

"Weapons!" a doll that came out from behind a box corrected him, then another doll followed after, then another doll dropped down from the ceiling beams, another from behind Evangeline, and another, and another.

Evangeline was lost at words at what she was seeing, a mix of amazement and fear in her eyes, "You kill vampires with dolls?"

"Technically puppets, but 'dolls' can too."

"Just, how, many are there?" the girl stuttered

"Eighteen," Hugh told her, but behind him, a doll was shouting 'Seventeen.'

One of the dolls ran up to the front, climbed onto Evangeline's knees, 'shouting' out, "Quiet, you are forgetting 'zero'! Zero to Seventeen, that's eighteen!"

She was met with protests saying that 'zero' was not a number, and that since 'seventeen' was their largest number, so there should be only seventeen of them.

"Enough! All of you, go upstairs, Chachazero, come down from there and watch our guest. I'm going to take a rest, having a headache right now."


	11. The Doll

Despite Hugh's order for Chachazero to come down, the doll remained on Evangeline's knees, and in no time, she climbed her way up until finally sitting on the vampire's head. Eva did not protest for the doll pulling on her hair, her own strength was waning. Unknown to even herself, Evangeline was dying, she had not had anything to drink other than the dog meat since she met Joanne. In her weakened state, memories of what she did to Joanne returned to haunt her, along with a nightmare she could not resist.

She was at a grand and beautiful hall, one with a throne fit for one above the king, the ceiling was littered with silver and gold chandeliers, yet the hall remained dark, and the windowless stone walls were mounted with trophy heads of defeated foes. With a single step, she was sent from the centre of the hall to facing the first of the many mounted heads - wolves, boars, bears, beasts she never heard of, monsters she could not imagine, and the last was blank, with only a name plate.

"Evangeline, that will be our daughter's name," said the voice within the queen's heart.

With blood dripping from the lips, Eva opened her eyes to see Hugh wrapping a cloth over a finger.

"I bit you?" Eva weakly questioned.

"I'm not turning vampire just yet," Hugh said loudly, then in a whimper, "I hope not. I didn't feel your teeth…" With his confidence returned, he continued, "All I did was to cut my finger to feed you, holding it high above your head, letting it drip, then you just tear the ropes apart and suck on it like a newborn to her milk."

True enough, her bonds were broken, she massaged her head as if someone pound on it like a drum just now. "You feed me? You hit me?" Eva realised.

"Had to, else you will never stop," Chachazero answered, who appeared to be still on Evangeline's head.

"Why… did you feed me?"

"I'm a human," Hugh simply said. While Evangeline still puzzled over his reply, Huge asked, "Do all vampires turn into skeleton that fast?" With a look of curiosity on her face, Hugh elaborated, "One minute you were… fine, just pale, the next minute, I found you to be almost bone dry."

"I'm new to this," was all Eva could say. "Aren't you a vampire hunter?"

"This is the first time I kept a vampire long enough to see her dying of thirst." Returning to his stool, he moved it closer, and while sitting, "Tell me your story, Eva, maybe I can help you."

Eva wished he could, but unlikely, even so, she told him his story, short of being a royalty, the bear, how Joanne died, and the dream.

"Ever heard of the rumour carried by this city?" Seeing the shaking of the head, he continued, "It is said that the lord of the castle would drink the blood of a young child very night. My sister went missing eleven years ago."

"A young child, could Joanne's son be…" Remember what they were discussing about, she faced Hugh and asked, "Was she-?"

"Don't know."

"Don't you live here? Have you even tried anything at all to find her throughout these eleven years?"

"We were from another city, the children stopped disappearing ten years ago. It was only when I heard about this city, did I realise that the evil never stopped killing, he merely moved, and I followed after, but only recently got here."

"I'm sorry," Eva apologised for the outburst, she was right, he would not be able to help her if he could not save his own sister. "I hope you find her."

"I hope not, she would be a monster working under the beast by now, I have been wishing that she died the night she went missing. I, I wasn't saying that you are a monster, just… well, you not, you didn't attack me."

"It's okay," Evangeline said, she knew she was one, a monster. "I wasn't bitten. Why am I- How was I converted?"

"Never really get a chance to interview a vampire, but from what I heard, it's not unusual for a victim to not realise that he got bitten, and once converted, the bite marks healed almost instantly."

There was one last thing she had to ask him though, "Can you make me human?"

He did not wish to lie or give her false hope, in the end, all he said to her was a simple 'No'. Hearing it from a hunter, whatever hope Evangeline had plummeted with what he said, it was okay, she expected as much.


	12. The Hunter

Eva woke up to fresh night, no longer tied to the pillar, but a collar around her neck with a chain to it. At least she had much freedom to explore the dark empty room. With nothing to do, she waited for him to execute her.

The door creaked open, revealing the miniature silhouette of a doll, with a knife larger than she was. She would have laugh at the sight, but decided against offending her guard, it was Chachazero again. Minutes later, another doll appeared at the doorstep, shouted at the former, "Master's looking for the kitchen knife, did you steal it again?"

With that, Chachazero hurried off, and later returned without it, embarrassed. Evangeline laughed heartily.

"No laughing!"

"Sorry, won't want to be stabbed by your invisible kitchen knife."

"It's just not fair, all of my sisters have an enchantment on them to fight leeches like you, I'm the only one without a spell."

"Why's that?"

"A leech is a leech, there is no 'why.'"

It was hard to get offended hearing it from a doll, granted that Evangeline had no idea what was a leech, and was wise enough not to ask too much about it. She corrected herself, "I meant the part about you not having a spell."

"Master said that I'm the original, his sister's in fact, not that I remember what she looked like. Anyway, he never bring me to fight, I'm always cooped up with the inferior stringed mindless puppets."

"Puppets?"

"Of course, he's a puppeteer! He had to work too, you know? You ignorant rich brat, he played his string puppets on the street to earn money."

Eva laughed again, at the thought of a vampire hunter playing with puppets and dolls. Chachazero promptly slapped her for that, at each Evangeline apologised.

"Is your master powerful?"

"Of course!"

"How many vampires has he killed?"

"Two," Chachazero said so proudly at which she held up two hands. Seeing the doubt on the vampire's face, "It's not easy you know, they ran away a lot, and you're the first vampire who ever attack him on dawn! Talk about stupid, a stupid leech from a stupid human child, from a stupid mother, fro-"

Evangeline had kicked her. Walking over to the wall where Chachazero was, she picked and shook her about. Dropping her when Chachazero's threats stopped, she returned to the pillar, hiding her eyes between her knees.

"Stupid kid," Chachazero said, leaving her alone in the cellar.


	13. The Lord

"Eva, I've gathered enough proofs that the lord of the castle is a vampire, or a monster at least. I'll be going to the castle later to confront him," Hugh said, all eighteen dolls were with him, and it was the first time she saw some of them floating about.

"Why are you telling me this?" said the vampire, now standing, and her hands nervously playing with the chain.

"I don't know, maybe I just want to put your mind at ease, since he may the one who converted you into one of his kind. And though I have yet to witness it, some of the hunters I know claimed that young vampire may turn human again if his maker is killed within a certain period of time."

Though it was a good news, Evangeline had long gave up her chance, all she cared was answer. "Let me fight with you, Hugh."

"Show me your fangs."

Eva showed him her teeth.

"You can't even control your fangs yet," Hugh concluded, with that Eva tried again, but her fangs remained hidden. "Besides, I'm going during the day."

Eva let of sigh out relief, believing that at least the man might be safe.

Hugh did not tell her about what he heard about his upcoming foe, on how he would sometimes walk the streets, instilling fear to the people, he could only hope the vampire would be weaker during noon.

"Chachazero, take care of our guest until my return," was the last the vampire heard before the puppeteer and his seventeen dolls left the cellar.

It would be while until the return of the day, while combing Chachazero's hair with her fingers, Evangeline wondered out loud her worries. "The way he said it, it sounded like it may be tough fight."

Chachazero fiercely rebuked her claim, but remained in the vampire's arms.

"There are vampires who can walk in the day," Chachazero murmured. "He always avoided those, he knew he's not strong enough."

"Does he know if the lord is one of those?" Evangeline questioned.

"Maybe, but he would still go, he believed that this is the vampire that stole his sister."

"That's foolish of him, he can't just rush to the death just because of that," shouted the vampire, now standing she headed towards the door, but was halted by the length of the chain.

"You have a part of the blame as well, girl, it's obvious, that you reminded him of his sister. She was taken when she was ten years old. That's also the reason he hasn't staked you yet."

If Hugh could not defeat him, what chance did Evangeline had, though the girl.

"As long as I can talk and move, he would be all right," Chachazero reassumed herself. "Let's go to sleep, and wait. We will know by morning."


	14. The Castle

Evangeline needed not see to know it was barely dusk, but someone was hitting her face with something cold, and from the feel of it, it would not stop until she opened her eyes. Struggling to open her eyes, she saw Chachazero using the thick iron key to wake her. "Wake up, you lazy fool!" she taunted.

Sitting up, she found herself free from the chain, and the doll was already trying to pull her up the stairs.

"Chachazero, where's Hugh," she asked.

"Master's fine, I'm talking and flying, aren't I? Come, quick."

"Where to?"

"Castle, he won, he won. He wants to see us."

Flinging Chachazero off, she repeated, "Chachazero! Where's Hugh?"

"Master's alive, I can feel it, come, we must go!" If dolls could cry, she would be.

It was obvious something was wrong. Faking ignorant, she hastily followed after the doll. Chachazero grabbed two knives and flew out the window, following after from the door, she was surprised, maybe not, the street was emptied of life, and the street was darker than ever, it felt dense enough to be within a hand reach. They travelled up the hill to the castle gate, meeting no oppositions whatsoever, but the gate was down, and the doll was at a lost as to how to enter it.

"Chachazero, there," Evangeline pointed out to what could be a side exit, littered with bones. It was no time to panic, it was clear that Hugh met resistance, could he have killed the guards? No, she answered herself, he killed the monsters guarding his lair.

The tunnel was long and windy, no doors or stairs, what could be minutes felt like hours, and she knew that they were already in the heart of the castle. Chachazero flew fast, disappeared beyond only to appear behind the girl, the whole castle was alive, and it was preventing them from reaching their goal. The doll panicked, worried that she might never see her master, Evangeline worried that they might never see outside.

They only thing they could do was to continue on the tunnel, until a bright light blinded them, it was an exit to a room. Evangeline would have imagined the doll flew in with haste without care calling out her master's name, but she remained with her, something spooked her. Evangeline could sense it too, it was the Chapel Ghost, she realised too late that the chapel never held a ghost, it was the Laughing Man all along.

Unarmed, Evangeline took the first step.


	15. The Lies

Hugh stumbled out from the light, collapsed onto Evangeline's frail arms.

"Run… He wants you…"

Chachazero remained firmed behind the vampire, she threw away the larger knife, and tightened her grips on the smaller one. The doll stabbed the vampire without explaining herself, but Evangeline understood why, her master was already dead, and she was blaming her for it. The man before them was nothing more than an empty husk, his soul remained in torment but his body already rotted away seemingly days ago.

The attacks stopped, hearing the sound of the dropped knife, she turned and found Chachazero on the ground, dead. It was then, the body once belonged to Hugh crumbled in her arms into fine dusts.

On her knees, one trembling hand picked up the larger of the knives, and the other the doll. She stood up with shaky legs, and forced herself to take another step forward.

She was at a grand and beautiful hall, one with a throne fit for one above the king, the ceiling was littered with silver and gold chandeliers, yet the hall remained dark, and the windowless stone walls were mounted with trophy heads of defeated foes. With a single step, she was sent from the centre of the hall to facing the first of the many mounted heads - wolves, boars, bears, beasts she never heard of, monsters she could not imagine, and the last was of a girl, hers.

The usual presence returned behind her, she swirled and stabbed the man behind her with the knife, it went in, but he only smiled. Fear overtook her, forcing her to tumbled back a few steps, just as she was expecting to reach the wall, her legs hit the base of the throne, and she fell sitting onto it. The man leant forward, his smile continued to widen the closer his face was to hers. Before, all she wanted was her questions answered, now all she wanted was to run, hide, or even die, anything to stop that smile.

"Hello, daughter."

With his knives-like fingers, he suddenly plunged them into her body, tracing them down from her throat to her groin, shredding the skin and clothes as they went, revealing flesh and drawing blood. With one swift move, he dug in further between her ribs, and from the graze he ripped off her guise. Evangeline jolted to a stand, gasping and screaming, before finally sinking back to the throne, now clothed in long flowing red dress, herself decorated with gems and jewellery. She was beautiful, she told herself.

The man retreated to the side, offering a hand for the dance. With lords and ladies already waiting, she shyly accepted his hand, and their audience clapped.

The floor was filled with interesting characters, she thought. A woman with a skull for head, and a man dangled by chains, they were utmost amusing, until the man tried to touch her and say something even when he had a hook coming out from his mouth, fortunately his partner dragged him away into the crowd.

The lord she was dancing with arched and whispered into her ear, "The man you married was a tool, wasn't he." She froze, and tried to say something, but the hand put a finger on her lips, saying, "Hush."

From the lips, he slowly moved the hand down to the chest, finally to the abdomen. "Our daughter will be her," he said, though he was smiling brilliantly, his eyes had the look of boredom. To finish off, he bit his own tongue, allowing the blood to flow before embracing a kiss with the woman. She tried to resist, but could not, entrapped by his spell, her mind was in a prison of her own body, she finally realised what he was trying to do, to steal their child, her daughter, Evangeline.

"Wake up, you lazy fool!" someone called.

Evangeline burst through the faux body that was her mother's, shattering it as she seized her father's neck with her right hand. His lips parted, revealing the thousand fangs, and with a brush of his hand, he easily severed Evangeline's arm. Without letting down on her attack, she shaped the nails on the remaining hand into a blade, and hurled it at his heart. Upon contact, her hand shattered like glass, disbelieving at what was happening, she barely noticed her father's retaliation. Only a single punch was needed to send Evangeline crashing against the wall.

As the father walked towards the battered daughter, the dance resumed behind him, it was then that the young vampire recognised something. Joanne's dance partner was the bum who saved from the fire, and Hugh's was the prostitute who gave her food and light. Both were nothing but mere shadows of her father, how could she not distinguish them then? She looked on with horror what they were doing to Joanne and Hugh, eating the faces and hanging them up with countless hooks. Unwilling to deny their existences, she refused to peel her sight away from the carnage, embedding their memories in her heart. They died because of her.

The father was still smiling, but with an obvious disappointment in his eyes, not wanting to lose any more time on a lost asset, his walk turned into a run. Likewise, it was clear to Evangeline that she had nothing left to lose, driven by animal instinct and pure adrenaline, she immediately went into a sprint, then a jump.

Father grasped Evangeline by the throat while she was airborne, and slammed her down almost immediately, the force was so hard that she could hear her own spine cracking. Father lifted one foot to deliver the final crash to the skull. With her vision fading, she turned to Joanne and Hugh for hope, they were saying something that she could not hear.

Evangeline finally grasped the truth, the lies his friends were warning her. Nothing in here made sense, she tried to recall when it first started, the side entrance! No, further than that, it all started when she opened the door.

With all lies put behind her, she opened her own clouded eyes.


	16. The Past

She stood between the door frames of Hugh's abode, night was fast creeping with the sun already fleeing from the market street to the far horizon. Remembering Chachazero, she turned to find the fallen doll, still grasping tightly onto the smaller knife. Picking up the doll and the larger knife, she exited the house, once more heading towards the castle, but this time alone.

As with the dream world, the people were still afraid of the night, they were hurryingly packing their goods and stocks, closing and locking the doors and windows. The castle gate was wide open, and there were two human soldiers watching her nervously, mortals they might be, but they could still feel what was and what would happen to them, and understood that their doom was inevitable. She did not need to see that the side exit never existed, walking straight into her father's corporeal domain, the guards let her pass unchallenged, she was expected.

The way to the throne room was long, but not as winding and impossible as the maze in the dream, at the end of the corridor was the room that was not what she and her mother had dreamt about. It was smaller, it did not have the gold and silver chandeliers, and the wall not mounted with heads, and her father stood firmly before his throne, clapping and smiling sincerely. Even in the mortal realm, it was impossible to judge his face, for his features were ever changing, but his aura was unmistakable.

Evangeline sprinted the moment he was in her sight, even with a knife prepared to stab at him, he continued clapping, saying only, "Congratulation."

With a raised palm, he intercepted the path of the knife, it penetrated the skin and bone, and did not shattered. Using the knife as leverage, she impelled herself up to his level, and with the nails on the other hand once more shaped into the form of a blade, she pierced into his chest, clutching onto the heart. Without hesitation, she lunged forward, biting and sinking her fangs into his neck.

The father fell backward, and was no longer smiling, but a look of serene and peace was on his aging face instead. It was over for the older vampire the moment Evangeline drank his blood with her fangs, but it would never be over for the young vampire however.

Memories and emotions flooded into the girl's mind and soul, she recalled how he lived for three thousand years alone, watching his loves and kin dying before him. He was foolish when he was young, and murdered his siblings, the only equals who could kill him, even when they held only love for him. Now as the oldest and most powerful, nothing could harm him, not even himself. He could bathe in a sea of fire and would still feel cold, normal vampires could drain him dry but he would still live. His only way out of the curse of immortality was to have a second vampire of his equal, one sired not from bite but from birth, and pass the curse to her. The games Evangeline had to play were the trials he prepared for her, to iron her heart into hating him, only with hatred could she defeat his ageless soul.

Realising that she had fallen into his trap to free himself, she pulled herself away from her father's drying body, but blood continued to flow from the wounds and mouth. As if alive, the blood ensnared the girl like web, invading her body from the mouth, eyes, nostrils and any holes they could find. The invasion stopped only when the father crumpled to dust and the blood founding a new curse in her body.

Evangeline cried, not for her future, not for her father's past, but for the pitiful reasons her friends had to die for. She howled, causing the earth to quake, the trees to shrivel, the soldiers and peasants alike to scream in pain and eventually to their death. The nightmare casted over the city only ended when the castle crumbled over the young vampire, she died that instance, but her resurrection was just as immediate.

"Wake up, you lazy fool!" Chachazero called. "Negi-boy's here for his training!"

Evangeline opened her eyes wide, even though it was just a dream from her past, to her, it might as well be the harsh reminder to her curse. She lazed sluggishly to the side, and suddenly spotting an evil grin on her, she pounced at the animated doll, snuggling Chachazero with all her might.

"Chachamaru! Mistress' gone mad! Help me! I can't breathe!"

Unlike people, dolls would never hurt her, or leave her.


End file.
